next on american history tv. congressional research jane hudiburg talks about the life and legacy of jeanette rankin. the first woman elected to congress. the u.s. capital historical society hosted the event, it is about 55 minutes. >> today we are here to listen to jane hudiburg, front of the society. your first us understand involvement with the capital, falling in love with

the capital like all of us are in love with the capital. jane was a, writer researcher for the history office. she was student programs coordinator for the maryland general somebody in minneapolis, and i'm still kicking myself for not taking up the offer to tour the dome, that's probably out of reach at this point because right now she is here in d.c. with the congressional research service. we're happy to have her in the medicine building down the street. she's a regular contributor to our dome. the latest article that she submitted was in eighth issue a couple years ago on bootlegging in the capital, that might suggest that she's really entered again out interesting little hidden corners of the capital, now janette is not a hidden anything. all of us know who she is. she's got a statue. it's precisely those kinds of figures in history that have

the most to surprise us with, because we think we know who they are with their legacies. but maybe jane hudiburg will share some new information that she's come across, so allow me to welcome jane. >> (applause) thank you, truck it's honor to be here. i've had a lot of great experiences with a capital historic society, lauren in charlotte was very helpful as well. i appreciate that some of my current colleagues are here, and my boss jim is here with other people from my new office, and also people from might hold office. heather and mary from the historical office. even some people we back from my capital guiding gays are coming up here. so thank you so much i really appreciate the support and you coming back even though we had a delay in this talk. so in this presentation, i will be speaking about representative

jeannette rankin. i will use a lot of quotations from. her some of these quotations i have condensed for the sake of brevity. my sources include newspaper articles, the congressional record, jeannette rankin's testimony before committees and progress. many of the images come from the library photo collection where they're available from the house historian which has a great website. if anyone is interested and the source material i am happy to provide more information after the talk. i am currently an analyst on congress, the views discussed here are my own or attributed to the many people interacted with jeannette rankin over her lengthened lifetime. jeannette rankin is remembered and celebrated for being the first woman elected to congress. in fact, she won her election to the house in 1916, four years before the

ratification of the 19th amendment that gave women the right to vote nationwide. she member of congress to vote against both world wars. in 1917, the house voted in favor of declaring war against germany. rankin, along with 49 male members voted in opposition. at the time she faced harsh criticism for her vote and left congress at the end of her vote. she returned to congress 22 years later at the start of world war ii. this time of the president called for war, even confirmed pacifists joined that cause. indeed the war vote again on december, 1941, just one day after the japanese attacked pearl harbor. under such circumstances, the legislature dared to vote against the war of declaration. that is no legislature except jeannette

rankin. on this issue, one newspaper reported that she raised her voice alone. so, when the name jeannette rankin is recalled, she's likely to be linked to these two facts. she was the first women in congress, and the only member to vote against both world wars, and it is right to do so. these two facts formed a core part of rankin's identity. but she's more than the 2 votes and more than the first woman in congress until her death at the age of 92. she returned again and again to the capital, to testify, to protest. she continued to fight for the rights of others, whether they were women, children, or copper miners in montana. she took the fullest rule possible in the democratic process and fought for others to do so as well. for that she also deserves to be remembered. in this talk, i will focus on rankin's time in congress and her experiences in and around the capitol. but

first let's briefly consider her years in montana and her work with the suffrage movement before montana women got the right to vote in 1914. a necessary step towards rankin winning the house election in 1916. rankin was born in 1880 and raised on a ranch in montana as the oldest of seven children. far from being isolated on the frontier, she grew up with, means as you can see from the size of her family home, her father john was a rancher, and a building contractor. and her mother had moved to the west to be a schoolteacher. her father was prominent in the community and state's republican party. like many of the other woman who had joined the suffrage movement, rankin went to college. first

the university of montana, then the famous new york school of philanthropy for social work. she worked in washington state for some time before becoming fully emerged in the suffrage movement. she served as a organizer for the national american women's suffrage association,.traveling throughout western states, rankin gave speeches on women's rights to vote. she spent most of her time in california working on that compensation, she planted her own roots, hired halls and bands to drum up the crowd. she put up posters, made speeches in front of saloons, and drew large numbers of people thought the towns and surrounding countryside. meanwhile, the montana state legislature was considering making women suffrage a referendum item, as chair of the montana suffrage committee, rankin enlisted the support of politicians, male voters, and women who were not

able to vote but nonetheless necessary backers of the measure. she even spoke in front of the state legislature. the first woman to do so. at this time, the western states one by one were allowing women the right to vote, starting with wyoming in 1889. this may surprise people because after the turn of the century, many of the women, i was going to say, it may be surprising that the states are on the western side of the country, because after the turn of the century, many of the women in the suffrage movement were associated with the progressive movement, which was known for its outreach work in the urban northeast and in chicago, part of the reason why the eastern states were not following the western was because many of these states made it difficult to change the constitution's. often they require two thirds or three fifth votes to make any changes. so the majority of the seats male voters might support women's suffrage, but not have the super majority

needed for the sake of changing the voting status for women. so an amendment to the constitution was needed to make the change for the remaining states. montana, though, was able to give women the vote by law, by a fifty three percent vote, their referendum passed in 1914. and as i said, rankin influenced that outcome by lobbying members of the state of legislature as well as the public. -- repay the women who supported her. she had some advantages. her family was well to do and prominent in the state. she herself had built a name for herself in the suffrage movement, and she had the financial support of her younger brother, wellington -- a well known montana republican in his own right who served as her campaign manager. rankin had one more advantage. she received a vast amount of free publicity as local, and

national newspapers covered the race. reporters expressed a fascination with her campaign. in october of 1916, the montana enterprise declared jeannette rankin candidate on the republican ticket is fiery inte, rare perspective. meanwhile the seattle times made this conclusion. miss rankin is an excellent speaker, attractive in appearance, indeed she had hold her political skills by lobbying politicians all over the country on behalf of the suffrage movement. at this time, montana had two congressional seats. but they were both in the same at large district. in other words, the district encompassed the entire state of montana. rankin found that the at large arrangement gave her another advantage. she had more statewide recognition than her competitors. it meant that she

had to travel long distances to reach far flung voted populations. she held rallies in train stations, attended community suppers, and visited countless schools across the state. still in an era of political polling she had no idea that she had the support needed to win one of the two seats. in the end there she easily won the top slot in the primary, out earning the next competitors by seven thousand votes. indeed, many democratic women crossed to the republican primary in order to vote for her. on november 6th, 1916, rankin voted for herself in the primary election. as the polls closed she couldn't take the tension of not knowing the outcome. according to her biographer, rankin was unable to bear the suspense. she called the office. she did not tell the reporter her identity. first she asked about woodrow

wilson's reelection, and then almost offhandedly how did jeannette rankin run? oh she lost, was the reply. discouraged, rankin went to bed. finally, as newspapers reported, she actually won by more than 7000 votes. she believed that three favorable conditions brought her to congress. the support of women voters. the at large district. and her stance against entering the war in europe. this last point we shall see also made it difficult for her to stay in congress. newspaper reporters flocked to missoula, many wanted to interview the president elect, profiles like the one picture hit newspapers across the nation. rankin would

be able to handle the stress completely. not only the first woman in congress, but the only woman in congress. while some reporters scoffed at her ability to fit in, others did give her credit for braving the circumstances. one kentucky reporter noted, was there any man willing to become one of a deliberative body made up of 434 women and himself? no, he concluded. a man in that position would have his courage boos from the palms of his hands. to give you an idea of what it was like for her as the only female, jumping ahead to of the 65th congress, so here she is in the center surrounded on all sides by men, but look at it and she expand the picture, how many of men were on the other side of her? 434 men, one woman. not only was rankin the only woman member of congress, but at that time, there were few women working in

the capital. before she was sworn in, rankin hired two women staffers who she had known and who also lived with her for a time. these women became trusted aides, they would serve every function, they were secretaries, researchers, correspondents, policy advisers. indeed, rankin and her staff formed quite capable team, but they had one enduring a difficulty. there were no bathroom facilities for women anyone near the house chamber or rankin's office. according to rankin's biographer, as it had seemed inconceivable that women would ever be elected to congress, no provisions had been made for them and jeanette and her secretaries had to make their way for through a maze of corridors and stairways to reach public accommodations.

this was a dispute that went on for decades after rankin as well, by the way. so, at the time, and we hear in 1917, the constitutional start of a new congress was march 4th. but the first session often did not commence for several months. president woodrow wilson soon called congress into special session to consider the war in europe, generally and specifically, german submarine attacks on atlantic shipping vessels. the special session started on april 2nd, 1917, the day rankin would be sworn in. that morning, rankin was the guest of honor at a breakfast at the hotel. which was sponsored by members of the national american womenn's suffrage association. she spoke to the crowd and suffragists and child while fair activists. she says i want you to know how much i feel this

responsibility. there will be many times when i shall make mistakes, and it means a great deal to me to know that i have your encouragement and support. then she was driven to the headquarters of the association, where she spoke from the balcony, addressing the crowd. from there, she proceeded to the capital, arriving to be sworn in, along with the other members of the 65th congress. so this is a little news clip they had of the 65th opening day. you can see the jefferson building down in the background. so that day, the house chambers galleries were packed. suffragists and other curious observers peered over

the railing to see rankin enter the room. reporters described the scene. men and women in the galleries pounded hands together and yelled themselves hoarse! members did the same on both sides of the chamber when miss jeanette rankin, the lady from montana entered the hall. one witness, the wife of a congressman, ellis, recorded the proceedings in her journal. she described in great detail, his physical appearance as she walked to her seat escorted by her elderly montana colleague. she wore -- let me go back a couple. she wore a well made, dark blue silk and chiffon suit with open neck and white white crepe color and cuffs. her skirt was a modest walking length and she walked well un-self consciously. her hair

is a commonplace brown and arranged in a rather to spreading pompadour shadow in your face. she carried a bouquet of yellow and purple flowers, given to her at the suffrage breakfast. she didn't look to right or left until she reached her seat, far back on the republican side. but before she could sit down, she was surrounded by men shaking hands with her. i rejoice to see that she met each one with a big mouth, frank smile and shook hands cordially and an effectively. it would've been sickeningly if she had smirked or giggled or been cook at-ish. or still if she had been masculine and fellowish, but still, she was just a sensible young woman going about her business. when her name was called, the house sheared and rose so that she had to rise twice, which he did with entire self possession. the same day, rankin and her colleagues were sworn, and they joint protection of congress, calling for a war declaration. the next few days, friends and house

members try to persuade rankin to vote for the war. a no vote, they said, would risk the suffragist cause. it would also risk rankin's political career. knowing her anti-war views, rankin's own brother, wellington, warned her. after the vote, there will be nothing. still, rankin held firm. at three in the morning on april 6th, the final 17 hour debate wound down. the clerk prompted each member to vote. ignoring the first roll call, rankin responded the second time she heard her name. i want to stand by my country, she said. but i cannot vote for war. immediately, the press turned against her, while no reporter disputed her use of the now famous phrase, how rankin said these words is uncertain. in an article entitled, solving jeanette, montana's big timber pioneer newspaper claimed, she spoke

with a sob and a voice scarcely audible. additional newspapers reported that she shed tears as she voted, prompting an angry pennsylvania state legislator to declare, this is the time for agitation. this is the time when we all reminds must confront the difficulty that presents itself before the entire world at this time. and janette wept. ranked her and others denied that she cried during the vote. indeed, one congressman called the story apocryphal. however, her voice most likely reflect a distress of a motion. she knew that american boys would be heading off to war and many would not return. this understanding triggered quite a few tears on the house floor. according to another montana newspaper, who was a time when strong men were unashamed of their emotion. an hour perhaps of the country's

greatest crisis. and while the public forgave congressman, who openly wept, the lone congresswoman was not given the same consideration. it's important to note that while she was supposed to, war she did support measures to prosecute the war. once congress voted to go to war, she wanted the u.s. to win. in the weeks following the war vote, she voted on measures to assist soldiers going into war. but she was concerned that other issues would be pushed aside as the nation focused on war. in particular, she did not want women or children to lose any gains made by them or on their behalf. she and her staff were at regular columns in ladies home journal, slowing the kneel to keep women moving forward. and one call, and she disagreed with cause for women to support the war effort by hand grinding their own flower. carried along the waves of misguided patriotism have become subtle attempts to destroy the industrial standards of this country. she also fought for the rights of

women who had married foreign men. she introduced a bill which is not passed, that allowed women to keep their citizenship and their property after marrying in the, it's as a montana, she knew many women who married canadians and in the process, off their citizenship, including their new right to vote. even though they had never stepped foot outside of montana. while she was fighting for women throughout the country, she sought to expand democracy elsewhere. she introduced a resolution stating that the u.s. supported political independence in ireland. stating women realize the irish struggle because of the struggles that they have gone through for liberty and democracy. even while shiite national and international affairs, she still wrecked commended to strongly rule people in montana. she introduced measures to provide economic security for farmers and miners. for effort to assist miners on strike, perhaps, do any remaining chance for her to win a second

term in the house. she took on the powerful and anaconda copper company. which was profiting heavily from wartime expenditures and according to her, blacklisting miners who saw more control over their working conditions. the company dominated the montana state legislature. that the companies urging, the legislator divided montana's at large district into two districts. and not surprisingly, her territory, the first district, now had a large democratic population. with her house seat in jeopardy, she ran for the senate in 1918, but she lost the republican primary. she ran as an independent in the general election below us that race as well. some would say wellington rankin's prediction had country, perhaps the sisters career was over with a no vote on the war. jeanette had one more major opportunity to take a stand in the next -- the last few months

of her term. like-minded members argued for the creation of the committee on women's suffrage, which formed soon after the election to consider an amendment to the constitution. before the end of her term, she served at the ranking member of that committee, which was an unusual honor, given the lack of her seniority. before a packed gallery on january 10th, 1919, she opened the debate. in this picture, notice the people wearing white, and that was the color of women's suffrage and where i am wearing a white shirt today, in honor of them. her speech connected to war with the need to expand democracy to women. mister speaker, she said, we are facing today, a question of political evolution. international circumstances and force this question to an issue. our country isn't a state of war. the nation has had a terrible shock. the result has been a sudden change in our national consciousness. to things we have for years, been taken for granted or only assuming a new significant. deep down, in the hearts of the

american people, as a living faith in democracy, sometimes it is not expressed in the most effective way. sometimes it seems almost forgotten. but when the test comes, we find it still there, opening an expiring in helping men and women to understand each other in their comedy. it is our national religion and it prompts and has the desire for that measure no justice, which is based on equal opportunity, equal protection, equal freedom for all. today, there are men and women in every field of endeavor who are banding all their energies toward a realization of the stream of universal justice. they believe that we are waging a war for democracy. can we afford to allow these men and women to doubt for a single instance, the sincerity of our protests stations of democracy? how shall we answer the challenge, gentlemen? how shall we explain

to them, the meaning of democracy, the same congress that voted for war, to make the world a safer democracy, refuses to give this small measure of democracy to the women of our country. prolong the pause for the galleries. and those galleries were full of her supporters. but then a number of men's to the praise her and also to advocate for the amendment. but then some stood opposed. one representative brought her emotional sentiment, cannot vote for war as a reason not to give women the right vote. he said, that seoul female representative, a woman's suffrage in the house, miss janet admitted not from judgment but from her women's heart, that while she loved her country, she could not vote for war. with the war still on, how

would you like to see a majority of the membership of congress made up of women? this is no issue to be decided by women's fears and tears and emotions, this is an issue to be decided by the real manly men of america. and this is why i'm opposing the pending amendment. despite these reservations, the house voted the path in by the pair of super nudge already needed, 274 to 1:36. it's to celebrate, she was presented with the flag that flew over the house at the time of the vote. this summit did not pass that resolution. and she would leave congress

before the ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920. still, the earlier vote that she witnessed was a first step, a very impressive for step in the march forward towards universal women suffrage. on march 4th, 1919, her last day in the house, she gave a farewell speech. she told her colleagues in the chamber, i'm sorry to leave you before the women of this nation are enfranchised, but i leave to you the men members of the congress, the great trust of enfranchising the women of this country. in response, members thanked her for her service, representative earnest along, be a fellow anti war member, submitted these remarks into the congressional record. now and then, life reveals where characters, which all she admire. in the 65th congress,

and no member should greater courage in self sacrifice. no one was ready or to die a political death for principle than the brilliant and accomplished lady from montana. if the voters of her state do not return her to the house or the senate, as some later date, i feel sorry for them. the loss of her services is not only a loss to montana, but to the whole people. so i turned out, she left the membership of congress, but she did not leave congress or the nation behind. instead, she returned again and again to the capital to testify before house and senate committees. in the 19 twenties and thirties, she remained active in the peace and social welfare movements. she lobbied congress on behalf of herself or organization seeking to prevent, ward ban child labor and improve working conditions. in 1920, she testified for the need to improve maternal health in rural areas. in 1921, she

defended the federal trade commission's ability to investigate industrial practices. in the thirties, as war loomed once again in europe, she turned her attention back to anti-war concerns. representing the national council for the prevention of war, and several congressional hearings. and i cheated, social irritated more than one member of congress who objected to her proposals. and then 1935 hearing entitled, taking the profits out of war, she stated, i protested and voted against the early war and i am still against this war. the last war was richmond's war. but it was the poor man who fought the war. nevertheless, the committee has not heard any porn man's ideas for taking the profits out of war. the committee chair responded. while now, let us hear your proposals. she then made a radical suggestion. on the declaration of war, congress which has the power must create a medium of exchange that would be good only during the war. and that would be the only legal tender, the only legal

money during the war that that money would become illegal at the moment the war ends. then of course, those who made profits would have nothing because they cannot use that money that was made. i don't think that one went over to well. in the senate hearing, she objected to the amount of money spent to promote the defense industry. she said, big invested interest in war get contract from the government. the run in the millions and hundreds of millions, they spend in advertising just as every institution does. it is that tremendous propaganda for war that has to be cut down. and 1937, she advised congress to study military expenditures. the chairman of the house committee on foreign affairs reprimanded her stance. we are somewhat amazed when an effort is made to organize another committee by a lobbyists. we do not appreciate it and i think i speak the sentiments of this committee when i say that.

undaunted, she returned in 1938 and in 1939 to prevent congress from rolling back neutrality provisions. i'm interested only in keeping out of the war, she told the house committee. i'm willing to suffer the consequences of loss of trade, for their temporary can be adjusted later. the loss for more is permanent, the pace of progress is always slowed and